Hi Sandra,
The holidays are a perfect time for springing the "We're going to Walt Disney World" surprise! We surprised our children once, and the looks on their faces was priceless! Although I didn't have the surprise coincide with a holiday, I have a few suggestions:
First of all, there are many vacation necessities that you could wrap up as clues. Things like sunscreen, sunglasses, disposable cameras, swimsuits, Crocs or flip flops, Disney gift cards, rain ponchos, oranges, lanyard for their Key to the World, hand sanitizer, empty ziploc bag (will be necessary if you're flying with liquids). You could wrap all these things inside a suitcase for another practical gift.
To add a little more fun, you could try a few of these more cryptic gifts:
- Countdown chain: Simply make a paper chain with one link for each day before you leave for vacation. You could do it in red, black, white and yellow (Mickey's colors).
- Puzzle: Most photo processing websites have gifts such as photo puzzles. Take a picture of a sign saying "We're going to Disney World" and have it made into a puzzle. They will have to put the puzzle together to figure out their gift.
- Scavenger hunt: You could wrap a large (huge) box, with nothing but a simple clue in it. That will lead to the next clue, and so on. The final clue could be some sort of note or sign saying "We're going to Disney World" Include some Mickey T-Shirts or fun Disney merchandise to add to the fun!
Best of luck to you with your surprise, be sure to have the video camera rolling!
Have fun!